Prologue : Facilis Descensus Averno [Hope II]
by Anja
Summary: Facilis Descensus Averno .. The Descent to Hell is Easy


  
Hope II  
Prologue : Facilis Descensus Averno 

By Anja  
Disclaimer: Dragonball and all it's characters belong to Akira Toriyama. 

  


  


"Bai bai!" Goku cheerfully waved his hand at his oldest son, who merely nodded in response. Undetered by Gohan's lack of emotion, he hoisted a little bag of capsules over his shoulder, placed two fingers on his forehead, and disappeared.

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"Vegeta, will you _please_ get lost? Really, I don't need you hanging over my shoulder to do this job." A woman's trill and obviously annoyed voice came from behind what appeared at first glance to be a piled dome of scrap metal. After a few minutes, with no reply, there was a very derisive snort and the sound of an electric drill kicked in. In the fury of sharp noise, a harsh and deep voice went unnoticed.

"Jajauma. You're such a fool."

The whirring went on for some time, finally grinding to a stop, to be replacing by the sound of one metallic object lighting striking another.

"This thing just isn't in the mood to work is it?" The voice asked, now obviously a female's, soft and semi-musical. She sighed and the sounds of movement were heard. Seconds later the woman rounded the corner of the metal heap, wiping her hands on an oily cloth, which she then casually shoved into the front pocket of her overalls. She came to a stop in front of a sheet of metal, hands on hips. "Help me lift this will you?" She asked the silent male behind her, not turning her head. Before he could reply however, both saw a flash of colour out of the corner of their eyes, and turned sharply.

"Konnichiwa minna-san!" Goku's exultant voice called out cheerfully. "I brought some more food, well, a little. And some cake. Chichi wouldn't let me eat it, so it's for you!" He babbled in a friendly way as he pulled down the bag from his shoulder and dug into it, pulling out capsules and placing them on a nearby tabletop. "Not much news though. Three more people died last week. One from sickness, one got killed outside, and the other... we found him holding a knife, and dead. I wish people wouldn't give up like that. It's so sad." He sighed, rolling up the empty satchel into a ball in his hands. He turned towards the small mountain of metal that stood in the center of the room and whistled. "So how's it going Bulma? Gonna be finished in a few days?" He put one hand behind his head and turned to the woman. She smiled and rubbed her nose, smearing it with oil.

"You bet, Son-kun! Just a few more adjustments, a little elbow grease..." 

"Then stop complaining about it, onna!" Vegeta's voice cut in, sharply. Bulma sighed in exasperation. 

"It's not that I'm worried, Veggie! It's just... well, traditional to curse at machines." She leaned in and placed a hand to the side of her mouth as though telling a secret. "It makes them work faster if they feel under pressure." She smiled.

"I'd feel under pressure if you were yelling at me too, Bulma." Goku laughed.

"I think the only thing being pressured here is the ability of you two to perform mentally. Kakarott, get back home, we don't want to see you. And you, onna! Get back to work!" He nodded his head towards the machine. Bulma stuck her tongue out at him.

"No, Son-kun, don't leave. While you're here, I might as well configure the machine to your DNA. That part is working at least." She walked over to a console and pressed a few buttons. "Get in the machine, Son-kun!" She called over her shoulder. Goku stepped up to the dome of metal, but hesitated at the 'entrance'. The inside walls had no panels; the circuits, wires, and metal exposed for view.

"It's looks kinda sharp and dangerous in there, Bulma... like needles!!" He froze in panic as this realization hit him. Bulma groaned.

"Look, Son-kun, I would have done it in designer colours and with a nice smooth finish if I'd had the time or supplies, but I don't. If you stand carefully you won't get hurt and you definitely won't get pricked! Sheesh! I have assistants who step in there constantly, but the strongest warrior in the universe can't? Son-kun, you're losing your edge." She cajoled him lightly, poking him in the small of his back. He sweatdropped.

"Ahahahaha! I guess you're right! Ok, I'll do it." He stepped inside, shuffling his feet slightly as lights flickered on and off and the hums and whirs of machines at work came to life. "So... will Gohan be doing this too?" He asked nervously.

"No. Just you, me, and Vegeta." She replied nonchalantly. Goku yelped in shock. 

"NANI?!? Vegeta, how could you let her go? She's gonna get hurt back there!" he yelled out, making sure the other man heard him.

"Baka. I don't agree with her either, but you try getting something out of this idiot's head once it's cemented in there." Goku heard his voice through the thick wall of metal.

"You two... you know I'm the only one who can build the responders when we get there. Neither of you could do it, even if I gave you instructions!" She humphed.

"But we could ask the you in the past to do it. You liked building new things back then, right?" He asked, worry evident in his voice. He saw Bulma spin on her heel through the opening in the side so that she was facing him.

"Look! I designed this, I built it, and I'm going too! I'm _not_ going to just sit here and wait for you to come back! I hate that! Besides, I'm the only one who knows who to work this!" she huffed. "Just be glad you're coming along at all Son-kun. After all, Vegeta is the only one who knows anything about Gravei! I just didn't want to leave you out, because I knew you'd be upset!" She finished her tirade and turned her head back to console as she heard a small beep.

Goku was too absorbed thinking to notice it though. The name of their latest enemy sent his mind spiralling back along the past years, even though it was a path he rarely tread.  
For so long, their lives had been taken up with death and misery. Ever since that cloaked ship had come out of nowhere, letting loose circular drones of all sizes, that shot at anything with a heat signature. At first they had thought it'd be easy to destroy them, after all, it was just blowing up little balls of metal.  
But the small machines learnt and compensated for their speed, until they could no longer even hit them with a ki blast. The drones themselves didn't do much better though. The Saiyajin were too fast for thier little lasers, but they hadn't realized that regular people weren't. Hundreds were massacred before shelters were organized, the biggest at Satan City and Western Capital, were Capsule Corp. took in thousands. It was tense, but livable.  
Then they were paid a visit by the captain of the vessel. He was a rather ugly looking alien, with reddish brown skin, dressed in a rendition of Freiza's standard uniform, except that he had a wide red and white strip of material around his waist. He was surprised to find Saiyajin there, and had recognized Vegeta.  
Goku sighed. He knew how often Vegeta had wished recently that he'd gone back and cleaned out Frieza's old troops, but he hadn't expected any of them to rise to power. After all, he hadn't remembered Gravei at all at first. They had tried to kill him, but he got away. They still weren't sure how. It had been some kind of device, not a technique, and none of them had been able to describe it well enough for Bulma to tell what it was. And then those huge lasers had appeared in orbit, like a giant eye, seeking out life and destroying it.  
People had sworn the world was ending when those huge, kilometre thick beams had blasted out of the heavens, destroying every habitation above ground. Not even solitary houses had been spared, and the surface of Chikyuu was practically ruined. The eyes, as they had begun to be called by the survivors, had never been withdrawn from orbit, an orbit too high for the Saiyajin to reach, and no ship could get there without being blown to dust. Pan and Bra had learnt that the hard way. Goku was surprised to realize that tears still choked him at the thought of his eight year-old grand-daughter, sneaking off, trying to prove she was as good as the rest of them. He hoped she was happy in heaven.  
But Gravei knew that some of the Saiyajin were still here, and he intended to see them dead no matter what. So many had already fallen... Goten, Trunks, Videl, Kuririn, Juuanagou, Piccolo... and so many others. Just too slow, or too confident. After all, Goku would save the day wouldn't he? He hung his head. It was too late now. His face grew hard. But they had a trump card Gravei didn't. The most spectacular up-your-sleeve trick, that had pulled them out of the fire once before... Bulma.  
She was convinced that she could build a time machine, but this one, unlike Mirai Bulma's, would change _your_ timeline, not create another. She said theoretically it should take your conscience and transport it back in time to your body in the past. It wouldn't damage your younger self's mind, because it was just like giving someone back a lot of lost memories. They'd be disoriented for a little while, but it'd be over soon. Goku hadn't like the sound of what would happen if the machine **didn't** work, but Bulma's machines hadn't gone wrong so far.

"Hey! Son-kun! I said get out of the machine! Are you deaf?!?" 

Goku snapped back to reality at the sound of Bulma screaming at him. He jumped out of the machine, smiling broadly.

"Gomen! Gomen! I was just thinking." He said sheepishly.

"Thinking? More likely you fell asleep where you stood, Kakarott." Vegeta murmured. Goku grinned, but he wasn't on the inside. Vegeta always murmered lately. For a while when Bra was growing up, he had gotten a little softer. Not much, but a little. But now... both his children dead, and his wife a workaholic, and no place to train or vent his frustrations... Goku knew Vegeta really, badly, needed this trip, even if it didn't work. Otherwise he might just go mad.

"Well, I suppose I better get back now." He picked up his bag from where he had dropped it.

"Son-kun!" Bulma said suddenly, "I'm pretty sure this thing is gonna be operational by 1200 tomorrow, so say goodbye to everyone and come early in the morning. Remember, you don't have to pack anything. Oh, and bring Gohan with you. We've set his room up so he can live here while we're gone." She said distractedly, fiddling with a part of the console. 

"Tomorrow? Really? Yosh!" Goku yipped in delight, doing a little dance.

"Yeah, if I put an all-nighter." Bulma replied. Goku stopped dancing.

"Another one? What if you're not well enough to go in the morning?" 

Bulma snorted. "Remember, I'll be going back to my young, healthy, and above all, gorgeous seventeen-year-old body." She clasped her hands in front of her chest and smiled. Goku grinned. So like Bulma. He had been pretty sure that was one of the reasons she wanted to go, to get back her past beauty. She was a lot older now, with a few frown lines, and most of her pin-up figure had melted away with age. Too much work had given her dark, blotchy eyes and calloused, bruised hands. She wasn't always able to move around well anymore, either. Chichi didn't really have that problem, but then she had always been healthy, and although she worked all day in the kitchens, she wasn't constantly burning and scratching herself, or putting too much strain on aging muscles.  
He was sure Bulma felt bad about it, as she had always thought her looks one of her best qualities. Goku was glad to see Vegeta humph and close his eyes though. He knew the other Saiyajin didn't care, and wasn't contributing to Bulma's loss of self-assurance.

"Alright, then Bulma. I'll make sure everyone knows it!" He smiled and pressed his fingers to his forehead, disappearing.

"I'm glad he's still around, aren't you, Vegeta? It would be intolerable if he weren't here to cheer everyone up." Bulma said wistfully. Vegeta sneered, and walked over to her, momentarily cradling the back of her head in one gloved hand.

"What did you want lifted again, onna?" 

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Gohan and Chichi were just finishing up their meal when Goku popped back into view. Chichi patted the seat next to her and stood up. 

"Don't worry Goku-saa, we saved some for you. I'll go get it." She walked to the stove and opened it, reaching for her oven mitts with the other hand. Although most people ate in the dining room, the Son family ate in the kitchen, seeing how Chichi constantly had to get up to check on something.

"So how did it go?" Gohan asked in a monotone. Goku grinned.

"It's going to be finished tomorrow!!" He pronounced loudly. Chichi gasped and smiled, but Gohan merely raised an eyebrow. Chichi rushed forward to embrace her husband.

"So you're leaving tomorrow? Or when? How long will you be gone?" Chichi asked, her face flushing from excitement. Goku held up his hands as though to ward off any more questions.

"Yeah, I have to be there early morning. I don't know how long we'll be gone though, Bulma didn't say." 

"She probably doesn't know herself." Gohan muttered. Chichi glared at him.

"Gohan! Don't be so negative! Bulma is an expert at this sort of thing, she knows what she's doing!" she scolded. Gohan closed his eyes and gave a little laugh.

"Yeah right. You don't realize how little she trusts in this whole nutty scheme do you? I've seen the looks she's given that machine. Sometimes she cries herself to sleep at her desk." He leant back in his chair. Chichi and Goku stood silent, shocked that Bulma did such a thing and that Gohan was so casually and maliciously mentioning it.

"Gohan... please... this is our only chance. If this works, everyone will come back to life! Goten, Videl, Pan, Piccolo... Don't give up on it before it's even begun." Chichi pleaded with him. Gohan sighed slowly.

"I know Okaa-san. I know. I just can't help but feel that things are just going to stay like this. You know, I never realized it, but Mirai Bulma and Mirai Chichi must have been the two most miserable women in the world," He got up from his chair and walked out of the room silently, leaving his parents behind, alone.

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"Are you absolutely sure you don't want a packed lunch... or some dried fruit maybe?" Chichi asked, wringing her hands. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea of sending her Goku-saa off on a big adventure without some kind of food to go with him. Goku smiled and hugged her.

"It's alright Chichi! I'll be absolutely fine! Maybe I'll even get to visit you as a little kid again," He grinned. "Except this time I'll know what to say to you!" He and Chichi shared a little laugh, Chichi privately marvelling at this wonderful man that she married. Goku reluctantly let her go, turning to his son. 

"Alright Gohan! Let's get going!" He put his hand on Gohan's shoulder and put his other hand to his forehead. 

"Goodbye! Take care! Eat well!" Chichi told them as they dissappeared.

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"Alright... uh huh... check, check, check. Everything is GO!" Bulma walked into the machine, where Vegeta and Goku already waited. Outside, Gohan stood at the controls. Even he had to admit, the machine certainly looked workable. Bulma had even covered some of the nastier looking circuit boards.

"Okay, I'm going to turn it on now." He said and flicked a switch, then typed in a few commands. Bulma placed a hand on each man's bicep. 

"We'll be split up when we get there remember?" She smiled. "So we have to join up as soon as possible!" 

"Hai!" Goku replied. Vegeta merely nodded his head. The chamber started to fill with a green light.

"Here we go!" Goku cried, excited and happy and nervous at the same time. "Off to save the future!" The light in the little machine increased until Gohan had to look away. When it disappeared and he looked back, the three people inside stood eerily still - suspended animation statues.

"Goodbye Otou-san... Good luck." He walked around the side of the machine, making sure it hadn't suffered any damage. As he walked, something on the side caught his eye. It was painted in the fervent hand of someone who was willing the words with all their heart and soul, and although sloppy, it was instantly recognizable and struck a chord in Gohan's heart that hadn't been touched since he'd lost four of the people closest to him. In the early morning hours, Bulma had written: Hope II 

  


  


  


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This was rather long for a prologue, but I did rush it along a little, and I get the feeling that the chapters are going to be even longer than this. *^^* I would **love** to get people's opinions, whether good or constructive criticsm.


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